Batman sequel The Dark Knight and pop musical adaptation Mama Mia opened over the weekend to set very different box-office records, according to preliminary studio estimates.

Starring Christian Bale for a second time as billionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego, The Dark Knight lit up cinema cash registers with $155.3 million in three-day weekend ticket sales, shattering the $151.1 million Friday-Sunday record of Spider-Man 3 set in 2007.

The Dark Knight was fueled by excellent critical reactions particularly for a comic-book adaptation, building on expectations from 2005's Batman Begins, which successfully relaunched the Batman movie franchise, and curiosity for the last performance of co-star Heath Ledger.

The Australian native, who plays the villainous Joker opposite Bale, died in January of a drug overdose.

Meanwhile, Mama Mia, a screen adaptation of the Broadway show featuring songs from Swedish 1970s pop icons Abba, set a record for a movie musical with a three-day gross of $27.6 million.

It stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in the story of a young woman's wedding and her mother's ex-lovers.